How to complete this form – payee

Section A: To be completed by the payee

Question 1What is your tax file number (TFN)?

You should give your TFN to your employer only after you start work for them. Never give your TFN in a job application or over the internet.

We and your payer are authorised by the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to request your TFN. It’s not an offence not to quote your TFN. However, quoting your TFN reduces the risk of administrative errors and having extra tax withheld. Your payer is required to withhold the top rate of tax from all payments made to you if you do not provide your TFN or claim an exemption from quoting your TFN.

How do you find your TFN?

You can find your TFN on any of the following:

your income tax notice of assessment

correspondence we send you

a payment summary your payer issues to you.

If you have a tax agent, they may also be able to tell you your TFN.

If you still can't find your TFN, you can:

phone us on 13 28 61 between 8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday

If you phone or visit us we need to know we are talking to the correct person before discussing your tax affairs. We will ask you for details only you, or your authorised representative would know.

You don't have a TFN?

If you don’t have a TFN and want to provide a TFN to your payer, you will need to apply for one.

have lodged a TFN application form or made an enquiry to obtain your TFN. You now have 28 days to provide your TFN to your payer, who must withhold at the standard rate during this time. After 28 days, if you have not given your TFN to your payer, they will withhold the top rate of tax from future payments

are claiming an exemption from quoting a TFN because you are under 18 years of age and do not earn enough to pay tax, or you are an applicant or recipient of certain pensions, benefits or allowances from the

Department of Human Services – however, you will need to quote your TFN if you receive a Newstart, Youth or sickness allowance, or an Austudy or parenting payment

Department of Veterans’ Affairs – a service pension under the Veterans’ Entitlement Act 1986

Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission.

Providing your TFN to your super fund

Your payer must give your TFN to the super fund they pay your contributions to. If your super fund does not have your TFN, you can provide it to them separately. This ensures:

your super fund can accept all types of contributions to your accounts

additional tax will not be imposed on contributions as a result of failing to provide your TFN

Question 2–5

Question 6On what basis are you paid?

Question 7Are you an Australian resident for tax purposes or a working holiday maker?

Generally, we consider you to be an Australian resident for tax purposes if you:

have always lived in Australia or you have come to Australia and now live here permanently

are an overseas student doing a course that takes more than six months to complete

migrate to Australia and intend to reside here permanently.

If you go overseas temporarily and do not set up a permanent home in another country, you may continue to be treated as an Australian resident for tax purposes.

If you are in Australia on a working holiday visa (subclass 417) or a work and holiday visa (subclass 462) you must place an X in the working holiday maker box. Special rates of tax apply for working holiday makers.

A higher rate of tax applies to a foreign resident's taxable income and foreign residents are not entitled to a tax-free threshold nor can they claim tax offsets to reduce withholding, unless you are in receipt of an Australian Government pension or allowance.

Question 8Do you want to claim the tax-free threshold from this payer?

The tax-free threshold is the amount of income you can earn each financial year that is not taxed. By claiming the threshold, you reduce the amount of tax that is withheld from your pay during the year.

Answer yes if you want to claim the tax-free threshold, you are an Australian resident for tax purposes, and one of the following applies:

you are not currently claiming the tax-free threshold from another payer

you are currently claiming the tax-free threshold from another payer and your total income from all sources will be less than the tax-free threshold.

Answer yes if you are a foreign resident in receipt of an Australian Government pension or allowance.

Answer no if none of the above applies or you are a working holiday maker.

If you receive any taxable government payments or allowances, such as Newstart, Youth Allowance or Austudy payment, you are likely to be already claiming the tax-free threshold from that payment.

Our commitment to you

We are committed to providing you with accurate, consistent and clear information to help you understand your rights and entitlements and meet your obligations.

If you follow our information and it turns out to be incorrect, or it is misleading and you make a mistake as a result, we will take that into account when determining what action, if any, we should take.

Some of the information on this website applies to a specific financial year. This is clearly marked. Make sure you have the information for the right year before making decisions based on that information.

If you feel that our information does not fully cover your circumstances, or you are unsure how it applies to you, contact us or seek professional advice.